Wireless telecommunications technologies are an increasingly popular means of personal communication in the modern world. People are using wireless telecommunications networks for the exchange of voice and data over mobile phones, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), wireless modems and other devices. Using the connectivity provided by the wireless telecommunications network, a user may seek information over the Internet or call anyone over a Public Switched Telephone Network (“PSTN”) from any place inside the coverage area of the wireless telecommunications network.
In a typical wireless telecommunications network, an area is divided geographically into a number of cells, each defined by a radio frequency (“RF”) radiation pattern from a respective base transceiver station (“BTS”). The BTSs in the cells are in turn coupled to a base station controller (“BSC”), which is then coupled to a telecommunications switch or gateway, such as a mobile switching center (“MSC”). The MSC or gateway may then be coupled to a telecommunications network, such as the PSTN or the Internet.
When a mobile station is positioned in a cell, the mobile station communicates via an RF interface with the BTS of the cell. Consequently, a communication path is established between the mobile station and the wireless telecommunications network via the air interface, the BTS, the BSC and the MSC. A mobile station, however, is generally not confined to a single cell. The mobile station may travel among different cells. As the mobile station enters a new cell, it may handoff from the BTS for its previous cell to the BTS for its current cell.
With the explosive growth in demand for wireless communications, the level of call traffic in most cells has increased drastically over recent years. A BTS, however, can only simultaneously serve a finite number of mobile stations. When a particular BTS is at or near its capacity, other mobile stations within that cell might be unable to establish a traffic channel with the BTS and thereby be served by the BTS. This may potentially deny these mobile stations access to the wireless telecommunications network.
Therefore, there exists a need for an improved method for providing services to mobile stations in a wireless telecommunications network.